Despite weak plot, 'Looney Tunes' is wacky load of fun

By Jack Garner
Gannett News Service

LOONEY TUNES: BACK IN ACTION (PG) Three Stars (Good) The latest comedy to offer a combustible mixed marriage of pen and ink and flesh and blood. The inimitable Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck are on a wacky adventure with Brendan Fraser and Jenna Elfman, trying to prevent world domination by the Acme Corporation's megalomaniacal chairman (Steve Martin). Directed by Joe Dante. Warner Bros., 83 minutes.

The inimitable Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck are on a wacky adventure with Brendan Fraser and Jenna Elfman, trying to prevent world domination by the Acme Corporation's megalomaniacal chairman. (He's played by Steve Martin in a totally warped portrayal that's even more animated than the 'toons.)

Hilarious cameos abound by a diverse lot that includes Sylvester and Tweety, Wile E. Coyote, Porky Pig, Yosemite Sam, Elmer Fudd, legendary B-movie director Roger Corman and comedian John Cleese. Storywise, "Looney Tunes" isn't in a league with the breakthrough "Who Framed Roger Rabbit," with its clever detective saga. But today's technology makes for a cleaner, more believable blend of cartoons and live action in the new film — and Larry Doyle's script is at least serviceable for the marvelous mayhem we expect from Daffy and Bugs.

Certainly, "Looney Tunes" offers much more imagination and fun than 1996's lackluster "Space Jam." For openers, it manifests a far greater understanding of the many characters, traditions and anarchical tone of the original "Looney Tunes" cartoons created by such pioneers as Chuck Jones and Tex Avery. Credit clearly goes to director Joe Dante, whose 1984 "Gremlins" is as close to a "Looney Tune" as any live-action film can get. He's always demonstrated an appreciation for the delights of such pop culture phenomena as B movies, genre flicks and 'toons, and he revels in those elements here.

Fraser stars as DJ, a hapless security guard on the Warner Bros. lot who finds himself tossed out of the studio at the same time as one of its legendary stars — Daffy Duck. They join forces to crack a nefarious kidnapping scheme that involves an all-powerful jewel. Bugs and his human partner (Elfman) also get involved.

Fortunately, none of this matters. The forgettable story is just an excuse for a breakneck parade of gags, cameos and cartoon pratfalls, all faithfully recreating the Looney Tune magic. If you're among the many fans of the legendary cartoons, you'll have a ball.

And like the original cartoons, the target audience isn't necessarily young children (although energy and gags keep them entertained). No, "Looney Tunes" have always offered the smartest, most hip and sophisticated of all cartoon comedy, and that's generally true here as well. By the time Porky says the prerequisite "Th-th-th-that's all, folks," you'll definitely be smiling.

Rated PG, slapstick violence, language.